Twin baby ring-tailed lemurs latest addition to Vienna zoo

The park said in a statement on Wednesday the babies were born on Saturday and will be suckled for about six months, with other females helping their mother care for them.

Lemurs, originally from Madagascar, are “sociable animals”, the zoo said, and the ring-tailed variety is easily identifiable by its long black-and-white striped tail.

In the hit animated film “Madagascar”, the lemurs were known for throwing thumping dance parties.

“Every year in spring, the lemurs are among the first species to produce offspring,” zoo director Dagmar Schratter said. “Further females are pregnant so there will soon be plenty going on in the lemur enclosure.”

The mother carries the babies on her belly during their first few days, after which they move onto her back, the zoo said. Their population in the wild has shrunk by a quarter in the last 25 years mainly due to deforestation, it added.